Levy's Guardian
by Kiwi Ootori
Summary: A short Gajevy drabble/one-shot. Levy walks home late one night only to be found in a difficult situation.


**I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters, Mashima does. If I did, there would be many more canon ships. Enjoy~**

Darkness had settled over the town as Levy left the guild to go home. She now regretted leaving so late as her dark green eyes swept over the lifeless streets and she clutched her books closer to her chest. "You're a mage, Levy." She muttered aloud. "You can take care of yourself." But even as she said it, trying to stay brave, she knew there were much stronger dark mages out at this time of night. Her small feet carried her faster as she thought of it. If only she had not been so into the book! Of course, she could have asked Gajeel to walk her back to Fairy Hills, he'd been there late too. She blushed at the thought of him. Why did he have to be so intimidating? And so dense?! Why couldn't he realize that she was head over heels for him? She huffed as she thought of it. All he seemed to care about was fighting. Suddenly, there was a rustling near her and she jumped. There was nothing there, but looks could be deceiving and she was practically running now. The lights of Fairy Hills were in sight and she was eager to get there. There was more movement behind her and her heart began to pound. "Let it be a cat, let it be a cat, please, let it be a cat." She chanted under her breath as every step drew her closer to the warm lights. But even as the words left her mouth, she knew it was no cat. If it was a cat, it would be a cat to be terrified of. Maybe whoever it was wasn't after her. But who else would be on the streets at this late time? A figure lunged out of the shadows and she took a sharp intake of breath and whirled around to face the attacker. At one glance she could see he was from a dark guild, the nasty guild mark on his neck showed that. Her legs shook and she struggled to stay calm. Was he the only one? Probably, she looked like an easy target. And she was an easy target, she realized as he came towards her.

"Well, little lady. It's late t' be walkin' alone." She glared at him, hoping she did not look afraid.

"How do you know I'm alone? I think you should just turn around and leave right now!" He smirked at her, his eyes full of lust.

"You were walkin' pretty fast, an I don't see anyone near ya. So somethin' told me you were alone." She got ready. She hated to lie, but if she had to she would. She needed to find out his magic. Or not give him time to use it. He stepped towards her and she pulled out her pen.

"I'm warning you. The person waiting for me ahead is mean, and I don't have much patience either!" He raised an eyebrow and chuckled dryly.

"So, the little lady wants t' get hurt, does she? A little girl like you doesn't stand a chance against someone like me." Anger boiled inside her. She'd been training and she was stronger now. The anger inside her only strengthened her. As he came at her, she moved her arms in a pattern. She didn't need the pen, but it added to the affect.

"Solid script, hole!" He stepped on the word and fell down, letting out a startled curse as he fell. She gave him no time to react. "Solid script, dark!" He had been climbing out, then fell backwards, clawing at his eyes. She had made him momentarily blind. "Solid script, storm!" She directed the storm to the pit, and heard his screams echo up, then it went silent. Just in case, she whipped up a "Solid script, sleep," a new spell, the looked into the hole. There he lay, and she wasn't sure if he was still alive. But she had beaten him! She smiled and reached down to grab the books that had fallen when a deep voice behind her warned her.

"Behind you!" She swung and saw two men coming at her from the trees. Before she had time to react, Gajeel was there, knocking one out and scaring the other away.

"Gajeel!" She gasped, and he turned to her, his red eyes looking her over, quite closely. She blushed under the intense gaze, shifting her feet.

"You did good, shrimp. You couldn't have known these two were here. Are you okay?" Levy could hardly believe her ears. he had complimented her. Her! And asked if she was okay! She answered him shakily.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks, Gajeel. I thought he was alone." The guy who had run away was long gone, and now they were standing with one who might be dead and one knocked out. He grinned at her suddenly and chuckled.

"Gihihi, if they'd been with him from the start you still would've been okay. I've never seem you fight like that." She was sure if she got any more red she would explode.

"He made me made, that's all. He's probably jumped other girls like me. he deserved what he got." He bent over and picked up the books she had never gotten to picking back up.

"I should probably get you back before Erza comes looking for you. Or Mira. And I have no desire to meet either of them tonight." She thanked him once again and took the books back, then a idea occurred to her.

"Hey, how'd you happen to find me just in time?" He looked away, slightly flushed, and her eyes widened. "Did you follow me from the guild?" He coughed awkwardly.

"I heard about some guys who were preying on small girls, and when I saw you leaving so late, I thought I should make sure you got home safe." She giggled. The big, bad Gajeel, making sure she got home safe. It was unimaginable! And he was totally blushing! He glared at her, but she could tell he wasn't mad. "It's not funny, shrimp. You might have gotten hurt, then Mira and the master would kill me." She tilted her head.

"Why would they blame you?" He shrugged.

"Apparently I'm your personal bodyguard or something. Mira's already warned that you'd better not get hurt or she'll come after me for not protecting you." They were now headed towards the warm glow of Fairy Hills. She looked up at him with glittering eyes.

"How cute! I feel safer already!" he looked down at her, his piercings flashing in the dim light. His face was soft for a moment, then he looked away quickly.

"That's good, I guess." She opened her mouth to say something, but it came out as a squeal when his muscled arm lifted her to his side. "You're too slow, shrimp." She pouted at the nickname and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on.

"I'm not a shrimp! And you could have told me to walk faster!" He chuckled lightly, but made no reply. It took him a few strides to get to the entrance of Fairy Hills and Levy had to admit it had been faster that way. He set her down gently.

"Here you are, safely home. Can I trust you not to get attacked on your way to your room?" She straitened her dress quickly, then tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear.

"I'm sure you can. Thank you for your help, Gajeel.' He looked away again, but she stood on her tiptoes and reached up to make him face her. "I mean it. You don't have to look away every time I say it, because I have a feeling I'll be thanking you a lot." He looked down at her, motionless for a moment, thinking. Then he smiled.

"As you say, shrimp. You're welcome. Do I need to bow down, my queen?" She couldn't stop the laugh that emitted from her lips.

"Of course not, although it would be nice!" He made a face and she put a hand on his arm. "Goodnight, Gajeel."

"Goodnight… Levy. She turned then to go inside, a smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks. After she had locked her door and was safely inside, she fell back onto the bed. Covering her face with her hands, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She was sure that if she smiled anymore her face would burst. He had called her Levy! He had actually said her name!


End file.
